Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Line

Lord Truscott: To ask His Majesty's Government what modifications, if any, they intend to make to the planned HS2 route.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government is continuing to plan and deliver HS2 from Euston to Manchester in accordance with the Integrated Rail Plan

Department of Health and Social Care

Schools: Mental Health Services

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of children currently have access to a mental health support team in school.

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the further roll-out of mental support teams in schools.

Lord Markham: Mental health support teams offer support to children experiencing anxiety, depression, and other common mental health issues. As of spring 2022, there were 287 in place in around 4,700 schools and colleges across the country covering 26% of pupils.  This will increase to 399 teams, covering around 35% of pupils, by April 2023 with over 500 planned to be up and running by 2024. The rollout of mental health support teams beyond 2023/24 will be set out in due course.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government how many young people were on waiting lists to access (1) mental health support, and (2) an inpatient mental health bed, on 1 October 2022.

Lord Markham: The information requested is not collected as a national access and waiting times standard for children and young people’s mental health services has not yet been defined or set.NHS England has consulted on the potential to introduce five new waiting time standards as part of its Clinically-led Review of NHS Access Standards, including that children, young people and their families presenting to community-based mental health services should start to receive care within four weeks from referral. As a first step, NHS England has recently shared and promoted guidance with its local system partners to consistently report waiting times to support the development of a baseline position.

Tourette's Syndrome: Education and Health Services

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improvethe provision of (1) health, and (2) education, services for children and young people with Tourette’s Syndrome.

Lord Markham: The Government is taking a number of steps at the national level to improve provision for children and young people with Tourette’s syndrome. Health Education England has supported an 85% expansion in the clinical psychology training intake over the past three years. This expansion model is expected to achieve a growth of 2,520 additional psychologists in the National Health Service workforce by 2025. Clinical psychologists are well placed to develop new services and undertake further bespoke development to respond to the needs of patients with Tourette’s syndrome. Furthermore, the Department for Education published the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green paper in March 2022, setting out proposals to improve the system of support for children with SEND or who benefit from alternative provision. These include new national standards and a more inclusive mainstream school system, with more targeted support and intervention for children when they are younger, which will raise standards nationwide for all pupils, including those with Tourette’s syndrome.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the differential rebate rates in the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access when compared to other countries, including Germany, and the impact of those rates on (1) foreign direct investment into UK Research and Development, and (2) the prioritisation of the UK as a launch market for innovative medicines.

Lord Markham: No assessment has been made. The Government is open to ideas about how a successor to the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access (VPAS) should operate from 2024 onwards. The Government will work with industry and apply learning from approaches in the United Kingdom and internationally to agree a mutually beneficial successor that supports better patient outcomes; ensures the sustainability of National Health Service spend on branded medicines; and enables a strong UK life sciences industry. Within VPAS there are strong incentives to launch new products in the UK in the form of the new active substance exemptions, which allow innovative medicines containing new active substances to set their list price freely and exempts such medicines from payments for three years.

General Practitioners: Home Visits

Lord Hutton of Furness: To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion ofout of hours home visits were made by NHS GPs in each of the last three years.

Lord Hutton of Furness: To ask His Majesty's Government how many home visits weremade by NHS out of hours clinicians in each of the last three years.

Lord Markham: This information is not held in the format requested.

Hospices: Cost of Living

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increased cost of living on the UK hospice sector.

Lord Markham: No assessment has been made. Palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, is commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs) in response to the needs of their local population.At a national level, NHS England have released £1.5 billion additional funding to ICBs to provide support for inflation, with ICBs deciding how best to distribute this funding within their system, including to palliative and end of life care providers such as hospices. This is in addition to the support provided by the Government through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April 2023 until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including hospices.

Hospices: Finance

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the financial sustainability of the hospice sector.

Lord Markham: Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life services, including hospice care, that meets the needs of their population according to local prioritisation and funding. As part of the Health and Care Act 2022, palliative care services were specifically added to the list of services an integrated care board must commission. This will ensure a more consistent national approach and support commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care.NHS England has published new statutory guidance on palliative and end of life care to support commissioners with this duty. A copy of the guidance is attached and includes specific reference to improving sustainability of palliative and end of life care services locally.Attachment (pdf, 500.2KB)

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to disseminate information on COVID-19 to at risk groups, given that the monthly updates provided by the Department of Health and Social Care have ceased; and where they will get their updated information from to inform their decision regarding how to (1) protect, and (2) support, the clinically vulnerable from COVID-19.

Lord Markham: The Government regularly reviews the COVID-19: guidance for people whose immune system means they are at higher risk, which is available in an online-only format and was most recently updated on 30 January 2023. The Department also holds a regular Enhanced Protection Programme stakeholder forum with key organisations and charities that support at-risk groups. The forum, chaired by Dr Jenny Harries, offers the opportunity for stakeholders to be updated on the latest policy and clinical developments as well as offering the Department the chance to hear the issues people may be experiencing first-hand.We continue to have in place surveillance arrangements that enable us to monitor any emerging COVID-19 variants and to assess their potential impact, particularly on people at high risk from COVID-19.

Gender Dysphoria: Health Services

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce waiting lists for initial appointments at (1) Sheffield Gender Identity Clinic, and (2) other gender identity clinics in England.

Lord Markham: The Sheffield Gender Identity Clinic is reducing waiting lists for initial appointments by recruiting and training more staff. This has increased the number of initial assessments since November 2022, and the service expects to further increase capacity incrementally from April this year. NHS England has increased investment in these services by approximately 130% over the past five years, as well as the number of Gender Dysphoria Clinics in England from seven to 12 with the rollout of five new adult gender pilot clinics since July 2020. These pilots will be evaluated over the next two years to determine how they can be expanded nationally.

NHS England

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the board of NHS England will list the members of its Data, Digital and Technology committee; and publish agendas and minutes of that committee's meetings.

Lord Markham: Membership, attendance, and a summary of the business considered by the Data, Digital and Technology Committee will be published in the NHS England annual report. This is the process followed for all NHS England Board Committees, and NHS England do not intend to publish agenda and minutes of Committee meetings.The membership of the Committee includes the NHS England Chair, at least two NHS England Non-Executive Directors, external subject matter expert members, the National Director of Transformation, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Information Officer and the Head of the combined Digital Policy Unit within NHS England and the Department.

Antimicrobials: Drug Resistance

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor and mitigate the impact of antimicrobial resistance on marginalised communities in the UK, including (1) people of migrant, refugee or asylum seeker status, (2) prisoners, and (3) homeless people.

Lord Markham: The UK Health Security Agency’s antimicrobial resistance (AMR) programme is committed to tackling and reducing antimicrobial health inequalities nationwide. Over the years, the AMR health inequalities workstream has taken a systematic approach to increasing our work to understand and address health inequalities in relation to AMR. This involves improving our understanding of the association between health inequalities and antimicrobial usage and resistance; developing a health inequalities and AMR engagement strategy including learning from the wider public health community; and producing recommendations for public health action. Future projects include surveying knowledge, attitudes, and health-seeking behaviours towards antibiotics in different populations, identifying and improving surveillance reporting gaps required to understand the impact of AMR and AMR-targeted interventions on Core20PLUS populations, and publishing the health inequalities scoping review. The Core20PLUS populations include vulnerable migrants, people in contact with the justice system and people experiencing homelessness. Furthermore, antibiotic consumption data within prisons, which is grouped with “other community settings”, are monitored and published annually within the antimicrobial consumption chapter of the English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance (ESPAUR) report.

Growth Hormone Deficiency

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of diagnosing and treating Growth Hormone Deficiency patients versus the cost of not doing so, given the costs arising from untreated patients including increased incidence of unemployment benefits and mental health treatments.

Lord Markham: No specific assessment has been made.

Hospitals: Discharges

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the patients discharged early through the North Tees discharge pilot described in the NHS England board papers for 2 February were readmitted inside 60 days; and what was the equivalent national average for such early discharges and readmissions.

Lord Markham: NHS England does not hold a dataset that nationally monitors readmissions for this cohort but has plans to collect data in the near future which will allow review of, and feedback on, this metric.

Department for Education

Free School Meals

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of the software that would be required to introduce an automatic registration system for income-related free school meals.

Baroness Barran: An assessment has not been made of the specific costs of any software for automatic registration because there are also complex data, systems, and legal implications to such a change. The department continues to explore the delivery feasibility of improving existing systems including the development of auto-enrolment functionality.

Ministry of Justice

Sexual Offences: Convictions

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the courts service record the gender of a person convicted of a sexual assault as “male” if they possess male genitalia, regardless of their preferred gender identity.

Lord Bellamy: Courts are required by the Courts Act 2003 and Criminal Procedure Rules to ask defendants to provide name, date of birth and nationality (the latter now only after sentence and in circumstances specified by the relevant rule). If and once an individual is remanded or sentenced into prison custody, HM Prison Service records their legal gender. Where the individual’s self-identified gender differs, this is also recorded, whilst making clear on the record that this is not their legally recognised gender. There are currently no plans to alter these procedures.

Administration of Justice: Translation Services

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the right to translation services for people engaged with the criminal justice system, under Directive 2010/64/EU of the European Parliament, and incorporated into UK law by 18 different measures, will be affected by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill; and if so, whether this right will be (1) sunsetted, (2) retained, (3) replaced, or (4) updated.

Lord Bellamy: The measures implementing Directive 2010/64/EU concerning the right to translation services for people engaged with the criminal justice system are in scope of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. We are reviewing these and other pieces of retained EU law for which the Ministry of Justice is responsible to decide whether they should remain on the statute book, and if so whether they should in due course be amended using powers in the Bill, or whether they should be left to sunset.The provision of translators and intermediaries is a priority for this government, and we do not intend to remove the right to translation services for people engaged with the criminal justice system.

Emergency Services: Crimes of Violence

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice on 18 October 2022 (59996), what issue resulted in undercounting convictions for offences under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018; and whether it was rectified for data published in and after November 2022.

Lord Bellamy: While improving our data processing in 2022, a data mapping issue was discovered in the Courts Proceedings Database production. As detailed in the Criminal Justice System statistics December 2021 publication, an estimated 3,220 convictions for the offence under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018 were not correctly mapped to the offence of Assault on Emergency Worker between 2019 and 2021 meaning an undercount for that offence in those years. This issue was reflected in the known issues tabs of our published data tools and tables. Convictions in 2018 were not affected. We fixed the incorrect mapping of 1,919 of these convictions (274 in 2019, 619 in 2020 and 1,026 in 2021) which are presented in the year ending June 2022 edition of the Outcomes by Offence data tool. This means that an estimated undercount of 1,301 convictions for this offence remains (227 in 2019, 530 in 2020 and 544 in 2021). We have quantified the remaining undercount and will explore ways of incorporating this in future publications. This mapping has been corrected in data for 2022 therefore all data in future years, since the Criminal Justice System statistics June 2022 publication, will present correct figures.

Solicitors: Regulation

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the regulatory regime for solicitors in England and Wales, which permits non-solicitors to invest in solicitors' firms, is beneficial to the investment and growth of the legal sectors, particularly for small firms; and what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the regulatory regime for solicitors in this regard.

Lord Bellamy: Central to the liberalisation of the legal services market has been the creation of alternative business structures (ABS) in 2011, which allowed non-lawyers to become part owners of law firms. No specific assessment has been made of the impacts of non-solicitor investment in the legal services market. However, research suggests that ABS firms have benefited the legal services market by enabling external investment and bringing in external business and commercial expertise, and that these new, innovative providers have increased competition in the market.While we have not made a direct assessment of the economic value of ABS, ONS data shows that legal services turnover has grown from £26 billion in 2011, to £41.6 billion in 2021. The number of ABS licences issued has also grown substantially in recent times, from 812 in 2016 to 1,861 as of the end of 2022.The regulation of the legal profession, and more broadly legal services policy, is a devolved matter, and as such the UK government does not directly have a position, nor intention to intervene, in the regulation of legal professionals in Northern Ireland or the operation of the legal services framework. However, where possible the UK government does encourage cooperation between the various administrations and the sharing of best practice.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Jerusalem: Religious Buildings

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the status quo at Jerusalem’s Holy Esplanade (Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount).

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK recognises that Jerusalem's holy sites hold particular significance for all Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world. As set out to the UN Security Council on 5 January, the UK is committed to working with all parties to maintain calm, avoid provocation and uphold the Status Quo to ensure the safety and the security of the Al Haram Al Sharif / Temple Mount and all who visit there. I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon] reiterated this position in my meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen, Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh and Palestinian Foreign Minister Malki, during my recent visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 10-13 January.

Slavery

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government when they started to draft the public statement about their overall objectives and approach to using UK aid to tackle modern slavery internationally, which they undertook to do in 2021 in their response to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact's review of the use of aid to tackle modern slavery,published on 14 October 2020; why the publication of this statement has been delayed; and when it will be published.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government remains committed to eradicating all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking in line with achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8.7 by 2030. The UK has supported over 120 modern slavery programmes internationally and here in the UK, since 2017 alone. Ministers are considering next steps on our strategic approach.

Russia: War Crimes

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they intend to have with other countries about establishing an international tribunal to try Russian (1) leaders, and (2) military officers, for war crimes, using the Nuremberg Tribunal as a model.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine, including by supporting the International Criminal Court and Ukrainian domestic investigations into allegations of war crimes committed in Ukraine. As the Foreign Secretary announced on 20 January, the UK has also accepted Ukraine's invitation to join a 'core group' to consider options for ensuring criminal accountability for Russia's aggression against Ukraine, including through a special tribunal.

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatrecent discussions they have had with international partners regarding how the international development programme can help to support less developed countries that are at the forefront of climate change-related damage.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: All parties at COP27, the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the UK, agreed to establish new funding arrangements for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Parties agreed to establish a Transitional Committee of developed and developing countries to operationalise the funding arrangements, with which the UK engages closely.At COP27 the UK announced a commitment to increase climate adaptation finance to £1.5 billion in 2025. This funding will help countries build their resilience to climate change impacts. The UK engages closely through the UNFCCC process with partners, as well as through direct engagements with developing countries.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Museums and Galleries: Sunderland

Lord Shipley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe structural problems affecting the National Glass Centre in Sunderland.

Lord Shipley: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the University of Sunderland, (2) Sunderland Culture, and (3) Sunderland City Council, about (a) the structural problems affecting the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, and (b) the future location of that venue.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Arts Council England, an arm’s-length body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, advises that the University of Sunderland has, in recent years, undertaken work to address structural issues in the building housing the National Glass Centre. A specialist external review, commissioned by the University, concluded that a multi-million-pound investment would be required to address these issues if the National Glass Centre were to remain at its current location. As a result, and considering value for money, the University’s Board of Governors decided to identify an alternative location. The University is now exploring a variety of options with key partners including Sunderland Culture (which has been offered public funding as part of Arts Council England’s national portfolio) and Sunderland City Council to establish suitable sites. Culture House is one of the sites being discussed.Arts Council England will continue to engage with both Sunderland Culture and the University of Sunderland as plans for the relocation continue to be developed.

Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ratify the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government is fully committed to the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in the UK.As with any international treaty, ratification of UNESCO Conventions should be considered fully, taking into account value for money to the UK taxpayer and the interests of both the Devolved Administrations and our Overseas Territories. When this process has been completed, Ministers will take a decision on the merits of ratification.

Football Governance Fan-led Review

Lord Pendry: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the reasons why they have not yet published their white paper on football governance; and when it will be published.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: His Majesty’s Government remains committed to reforming football to address the issues identified in the Fan-Led Review of Football Governance, and will set out details to do this shortly after recess.

Department for Work and Pensions

Broadband: Prices

Lord Sikka: To ask His Majesty's Government how many(1) individuals, and (2) households, are eligible for the social broadband tariffs; and how many are receiving them.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The specific benefit types which provide eligibility to social broadband tariffs vary between internet service providers (ISPs). Receipt of Universal Credit is the most common eligibility criterion across providers, therefore, at least 4.2 million households are eligible to apply for a social broadband tariff. Since the DWP is only responsible for confirming benefit status with an ISP signed up to the automatic entitlement checker, we do not collect data on how many arrangements are now in place. However, Ofcom reported that 136 000 households were in receipt of a social tariff as of August 2022. DWP is working with Ofcom to ensure staff across the Jobcentre Plus and DWP Service Centre network are aware of the broadband social tariffs and signpost eligible claimants to them.

Food Banks: Finance

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for a funding programme for food banks to develop into alternative forms of initiative, such as food clubs or social supermarkets.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Food Banks are independent, charitable organisations where local communities come together to support one another. This is a great example of the generosity of spirit across the country. The Government has no role in their operation.

Access to Work Programme

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government what the average length of time taken to process claims under the Access to Work Scheme was from 1 January to 31 December 2022.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The average length of time taken to process claims under the Access to Work Scheme for the period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022 was 52.1 daysThe time taken to process different application types can vary, some can be cleared very quickly, and decisions made in a day, whereas others, if complex, may take longer and require a Workplace Assessment to recommend a tailored package of support for individual customers.Access to Work has received a significant increase in applications over the last year. In response, we have recruited new staff to meet the increased demand and reduce the time it takes to make decisions, and we are continuing with this over the year. We are also transforming the Access to Work service through increased digitalisation, that will make the service more efficient, make the application process easier, and improve the time taken from application through to decision.Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rivers: Sewage

Lord Foster of Bath: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of raw sewage discharged into rivers (1) annually between 2010 and 2022, and (2) annually up to and including 2030.

Lord Benyon: Event Duration Monitoring (EDM) provides information on when and for how long sewage discharges have occurred. All EDM data is published online. More information on EDM is available here (copy attached to this answer). The Environment Agency will be publishing the annual EDM dataset for 2022 in March 2023. We have increased the number of storm overflows monitored across the network from 5% in 2016 to almost 90% now monitored, and we will reach 100% cover by end of this year. Therefore, it is not an accurate reflection to compare the number of discharges across 2010 to 2021 given monitoring was not installed at all sites at the same point in time.Storm overflow spill data (pdf, 213.0KB)

Biodiversity: Hertfordshire

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to supportbiodiversity in Hertfordshire.

Lord Benyon: In England we have set four legally binding targets for biodiversity:- By 2030: to halt the decline in species abundance- By 2042: to reverse declines; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat. These targets will drive actions to support biodiversity in Hertfordshire and every other county across England. We have set out our plan to deliver on these ambitious targets, along with our other environmental targets, in the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23) published on 31 January 2023. The EIP23 revises the 25-Year Environment Plan, which set out our vision for a quarter-of-a-century of action to help the natural world regain and retain good health. For local authorities in Hertfordshire, Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) will also identify the most valuable areas for nature and opportunities for them to be developed or expanded. LNRS are being designed to work with a range of policies and delivery mechanisms so that we able to meet our nature recovery objectives in the most efficient and effective way.

Home Office

Deportation: Standards

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average wait before an individual is returned following acceptance of a voluntary deportation from the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The average processing time of voluntary return applications is not routinely captured. To capture numbers would require a manual trawl of data and to do so would incur disproportionate cost.

Asylum: Iraq

The Lord Bishop of Southwark: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of Iraqi refugees in Jordan that have (1) applied for, and (2) been granted, asylum in the UK since 2014.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes data on asylum and resettlement in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of asylum applications and initial decisions by nationality are published in table Asy_D01 and Asy_D02 respectively of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to Q3 2022.Please note, to apply for asylum in the UK, individuals must be physically in the UK. Published statistics therefore relate to Iraqi nationals who have applied for asylum while in the UK. The Home Office does not collect information on the location of refugees after they have received their decision.Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of providing a fee waiver for indefinite leave to remain applications for people aged under 25 who can demonstrate that they cannot afford the fee after meeting essential living costs.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office keeps the fees for immigration and nationality applications under review. No specific assessment on the potential merits of providing a fee waiver for Indefinite Leave to Remain for people aged under 25 has been undertaken.The Home Office provides exceptions to the need to pay application fees in a number of specific circumstances. These exceptions ensure the Home Office’s immigration and nationality fee structure complies with international obligations and wider government policy.

Asylum: Children

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government who is legally responsible for the welfare of child asylum seekers in the UK.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The rise in the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) crossing the Channel in small boats has place significant challenges for local authorities in identifying care placements for young people. Out of necessity, and with the best interests of the child in mind, we have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give unaccompanied children a roof over their heads whilst local authority accommodation is found. The safety and wellbeing of those in our care is our primary concern.We recognise hotel accommodation is a temporary means to accommodate the increased number of UASC arriving and are not a long-term option.The Home Office does not have, and therefore cannot discharge, duties under Part 3 of the Children Act 1989. It is for the local authority where an unaccompanied child is located to consider its duties under the Children’s Act 1989.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy for disposal of small boats used by asylum seekers crossing the English Channel.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: All vessels that have been subject to seizure are held by Border Force until completion of any criminal investigation activities. The majority of boats are not fit for re-sale or to ever go to sea again, as they arrive in very poor condition and may be damaged during the recovery process. The boats are disposed of by Border Force’s approved contractors and, where appropriate, any suitable materials are recycled.

Asylum: Care Leavers

Baroness Eaton: To ask His Majesty's Government what analysis they have done to ascertain whether the rate paid to councils to support care leavers who were formerly unaccompanied-asylum seeking children is sufficient to cover the costs of this support.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: All local authorities receive funding via the Local Government Finance Settlement or finance arrangements which apply to the Devolved Administrations. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23. The majority of the funding is un-ringfenced in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities and the services they provide.Additionally, the Home Office provides a financial contribution to the costs incurred by local government supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and former UASC care leavers.Any local authority receiving a child transferred under the scheme receives a funding contribution of £114 or £143 per child per night, dependent on the number of children they accommodate. In addition, the government increased the contribution for all former UASC care leavers from £240 per person per week to £270 per person per week. These changes follow a significant uplift in funding in June 2020.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with Afghan refugees prior to their decision to move them from London to Yorkshire.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) educational, (2) medical, and (3) transport, facilities in the area which Afghan refugees are being moved to in Yorkshire.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what type of accommodation is being arranged in Yorkshire for Afghan refugees being moved from London.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the ages of all the Afghan refugees being moved from London to Yorkshire.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office are not able to provide the data on ages requested, the recent update to the published 'Afghan Resettlement: Operational Data', shows that, at 4th November 2022: 9,242 people, around half of whom were children, were living in temporary accommodation such as hotels. Work is underway to assure information relating to all the individuals relocated under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) on case working systems. Once this work concludes, further statistics on both schemes will be included in the published Immigration Statistics. We acknowledge that hotels do not provide a long-term solution, however, they do offer safe, secure and clean accommodation. We will continue to bring down the number of people in bridging hotels and support people into more sustainable accommodation as quickly as possible. In order to deliver value for money to the taxpayer, we are consolidating the number of bridging hotels being used, by maximising capacity in hotels which have available rooms and rooms being returned back to hotels that are not being used or do not match family requirements. This sometimes means families can be moved from a hotel scheduled for closure to another hotel. In this case, families were notified in September 2022 that the Home Office contract was ending in February 2023, and have been supported by their Home Office Liaison Officer and Local Authority every step of the way since then. This includes the receiving Local Authorities, who are responsible for allocating school places and ensuring that suitable health care support is in place. There is an acknowledged shortage of longer-term housing for all, nevertheless, we continue to work tirelessly with over 350 local authorities to house and support Afghan families.

Immigration: Fees and Charges

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what number and proportion of people aged under 25 making an application for limited leave to remain under the Immigration Rules Appendix Private Life were granted a fee waiver in (1)2021, and (2)2022.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office does not hold published data on the number and proportion of people under 25 making an application for limited leave to remain under the Immigration Rules Appendix Private Life were granted a fee waiver in (1) 2021, and (2) 2022.

British Nationality: Fees and Charges

Lord Rosser: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 4 January (HL4305), what assessment they have made of the differing fees for differing citizenship applications despite the same unit cost; where the additional income is allocated; and what the additional income is used for.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Explanatory Memorandum to the Immigration and Nationality Fees Regulations 2014 sets out the rationale for the differential between fees for naturalisation and adult and child registration. Different fees are applied to registration and naturalisation fee because a concession is applied to registration provisions as they cater for people closely connected with the UK with sufficiently strong or established links to be able to register as a British Citizen. The fee for a child registering as a British Citizen is lower than the fee charged to an adult, as the entitlements conferred on a successful applicant are fewer.Fees for immigration and nationality applications are set in line with the charging principles set out in the Immigration Act 2014, which include the cost of processing the application, the wider costs of running the Migration and Borders system and the benefits enjoyed by a successful application.All income generated above the estimated unit cost is used to fund the wider Migration and Borders system.

Asylum: Children

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they carried out a risk assessment when deciding to place unaccompanied children seeking asylum in hotels; and if so, (1) whether any risks were identified as a matter of safeguarding, and (2) whether any safeguarding mitigations were put in place to deal with each of those risks.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The rise in the number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) crossing the Channel in small boats has led to significant challenges for local authorities in identifying care placements for young people.The wellbeing, welfare and security of children and minors in our care is an absolute priority. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place to ensure all children and minors are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with local authorities.When considering whether to accommodate Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in Home Office operated hotels, advice and guidance was sought from organisations with expertise and experience with young people. These included the Department for Education, the Home Office Safeguarding Advice and Children’s Champion and local authorities.This information was used to develop the processes and procedures to ensure the safety of the young people accommodated in the hotels.Safeguarding is a key consideration when identifying potential hotels for temporary use. The Home Office undertake hotel specific risk assessments before contracting any site.We continue to consult multi-agency partners and subject matter experts to ensure our processes and procedures are robust and evolve as new trends or risks emerge.

Immigration

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government whatestimate they have made of (1) the total number of people who are currently eligible for the five-year route to settlement introduced in 2022 as Appendix Private Life to the Immigration Rules, and (2) the number of those people who would meet the threshold to be granted a fee waiver for a limited leave to remain applications.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Eligibility for the Private Life routes is set out in the Immigration Rules. Each application is considered on its merits and on a case by-case basis taking into account the individual circumstances.Any applications for a fee waiver are considered against published criteria on a case by-case basis.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

General Election: Candidates

Lord Bradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many days before a general election does an employee who has been selected as a parliamentary candidate have to resign from their job when they are working for (1) the NHS, (2) a local authority, and (3) the Civil Service.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: NHS England employees are not subject to any requirements to resign due to parliamentary candidacy.   Health is devolved in Scotland and Wales – restrictions relating to parliamentary candidacy on employees of NHS Scotland and NHS Wales are a matter for the Scottish and Welsh governments.   A number of specified local authority positions are designated as ‘politically restricted’. Holders of such posts are required to resign before announcing their candidacy for Parliament. Individual local authorities have the flexibility to designate additional positions as ‘politically restricted’. Furthermore, they may also choose to include restrictions relating to parliamentary candidacy in their employment contracts with any of their employees.   Civil Servants are disqualified from holding the office of MP. Parliamentary candidates must confirm they are not disqualified from holding the office when completing their consent to nomination form, and therefore cannot be employed in the Civil Service at this point. Furthermore, Civil Servants who are categorised as belonging to politically restricted or politically intermediate groups must resign before being adopted as a prospective candidate by a political party.

Leisure and Swimming Pools: Finance

Lord Freyberg: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of (1) the amount that local councils spend to fund (a) leisure centres, and (b) swimming pools, and (2) the extent to which this varies across England.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: In the local government revenue accounts for 2022/23 (attached) , of a total service expenditure budget of £108 billion, £0.4 billion was allocated for ‘recreation and sport’.Local Government revenue accounts (pdf, 92.3KB)

Homelessness

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support local authorities to help tackle homelessness.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The Government is spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years and the vast majority of this funding is being provided to local authorities.This includes £366 million in funding in 2022/23 through the Homelessness Prevention Grant to help local authorities prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation.

Cabinet Office

Agriculture: Accidents

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of (1) deaths, and (2) serious injuries, in theagricultural industry from 2015 up until the last year for which records are available.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics AuthorityA response to the noble Baroness’ Parliamentary Question of 3 February is attached.  Professor Sir Ian Diamond | National Statistician Baroness Kennedy of CradleyHouse of LordsLondonSW1A 0PW 8 February 2023 Dear Lady Kennedy,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the number of deaths and serious injuries in the agricultural industry from 2015 up until the last year for which records are available (HL5397).The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is responsible for publishing statistics on deaths registered in England and Wales. Mortality statistics are compiled from information supplied when deaths are certified and registered as part of civil registration. The information on occupation is supplied by the informant when registering the death. The ONS does not hold data on serious injuries occurring in the agricultural industry.From 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2022, 10,240 deaths of persons aged 16 to 64 working in the agricultural industry were registered in England and Wales (including non-residents). These deaths were registered with the Standard Occupational Classification minor group codes 511 and 911. These agricultural and related trades occupations are defined as those who cultivate and harvest crops, breed and rear animals, raise animals for consumption, catch and breed fish and other aquatic life, grow plants, trees, shrubs and flowers for sale, tend private and public gardens, parks, sports pitches and other recreational areas, and perform a variety of other skilled occupations related to agriculture and fishing.Yours sincerely,Professor Sir Ian Diamond UKSA Response to HL5397 (pdf, 118.3KB)

Cabinet Office: Staff

Lord Leigh of Hurley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent employees work in the Propriety and Ethics department in the Cabinet Office.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: There are 19.3 FTE working in the P&E team broken down as follows:Director P&E: 1 FTEP&E Core: 6 FTEIntegrity Systems Team: 9.4 FTESecretariat to the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests: 2.9 FTE

The Senior Deputy Speaker

House of Lords: Security

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker how manyfirms were invited to tender for the new front door at Peers Entrance.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: Three contractors were given the opportunity to be issued an invitation to tender for the replacement front door at Peers’ Entrance. Two contractors confirmed they wanted to bid for the works and were issued an invitation to tender. Both contractors submitted tenders which were evaluated by an evaluation panel and the highest scoring contractor was awarded the contract.

House of Lords: Security

Viscount Trenchard: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker,  further to the Written Answer byLord Gardiner of Kimble on 1 February (HL5048), what account was taken by theexternal experts of the proportionality of the costs of the works at Peers' Entrance against the background that further related security works will be undertaken within the next three years.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The proportionality of the costs of the works at Peers’ Entrance, and the security benefits arising, have been the subject of rigorous internal assessment through the usual business case process. The plans have also been validated by external experts.To avoid publicly disclosing sensitive security matters it is not possible to go into further detail, however Members are always welcome to contact the Director of Security to discuss any security-related concerns privately.

House of Lords: Security

Viscount Trenchard: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker,  further to the Written Answer byLord Gardiner of Kimble on 1 February (HL5048), what account was taken of the further security works to be undertaken within the next three years when assessing the proportionality of the cost of the works at Peers' Entrance.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The proportionality of the costs of the works at Peers’ Entrance, and the security benefits arising, have been the subject of rigorous internal assessment through the usual business case process. The plans have also been validated by external experts.To avoid publicly disclosing sensitive security matters it is not possible to go into further detail, however Members are always welcome to contact the Director of Security to discuss any security-related concerns privately.

Palace of Westminster: Repairs and Maintenance

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker,  further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 1 February (HL4851),who he consulted when preparing his answer; and what oversight mechanisms exist to scrutinise the design and cost of security projects for the House of Lords.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The Parliamentary Security Department and Strategic Estates teams were consulted when preparing the answer to HL4851, along with House of Lords Administration officials.The design and cost of security projects for Parliament go through rigorous internal scrutiny. The Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House, as Accounting and Corporate Officers, have responsibility for approving final business cases for security projects across the Parliamentary Estate, subject to advice from the Finance Directors and other relevant officials.The Clerk of the Parliaments’ decisions on security projects are informed by consultation with the House of Lords Commission, which ensures that the impact on Members is taken into account, and by the Finance Committee which receives regular reports regarding security expenditure. There is also significant oversight by the Finance Director. The Clerk of the House is informed by the equivalent groups and individuals in the House of Commons. Ultimately it is not the House that makes the final decision because security is a bicameral issue, and legal responsibility for safety sits with the Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House.Governance of the Security Programme for Parliament is provided by the Quarterly Review Group (QRG). Membership includes the Clerk of the House of Commons and Clerk of the Parliaments, the Finance Directors of both Houses, the Chief Operating Officer of the House of Lords and DG Operations of the House of Commons, and a non-executive external advisor (the Director of Property for the Royal Household).The Parliamentary Security Department and Strategic Estates also consult external experts, including the Metropolitan Police Service, the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure, and Historic England to inform the Security Programme.

House of Lords: Security

Lord Balfe: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether, in view of the disquiet over the cost and other aspectsof the Peers' Entrance works, any way exists for the issue to be brought to the floor of the House for debate, with a possibility of cancelling or referring back for further consideration these proposals.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The strong advice to all members is that debating the drivers behind specific security projects, and the plans to address security weaknesses, should not be raised in any public forum as to do so may heighten the security threat.Members are always welcome to contact the Director of Security to discuss any security-related concerns privately.The Peers’ Portico project has been approved by the Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House who, as Accounting Officers and Corporate Officers, are legally accountable for ensuring the safety of all members, staff and visitors on the Parliamentary Estate as a whole. Before coming to their decision, they considered professional security advice, the external professional security validation of that advice, and the views of members on the Commission, the Services Committee, the Finance Committee and members more widely. Ultimately it is not the House that makes the final decision because security is a bicameral issue, and legal responsibility for safety sits with the Clerk of the Parliaments and Clerk of the House.